Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 33, Number 35, 21 March 1908 — Page 6

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By Margaret Johnson. ir. as brown as a nut from his bare little toes To the tfp of his truly Assyrian nose, The fisher-boy, little Tiglates, Among the tall rushes sat fishing for carp With a line very long and a hook very sharp, As he sat every day, Merry-hearted and gay. And fished in his ancient Assyrian -way, By the banks of the river Euphrates. A cloud on the highway, a sound in the air Now who could be coming, his fishes to scare. And his basket not yet over-brimming! Ills line from the water lie carefully drew. And after a gay little flourish or two On the pipe he had made From the rushes that swayed In the river, a tune so enchanting he played That the fishes ta listen came swimming. But the king was out hunting that day by the shore Some twenty ferocious big lions or more. And 't was this that had startled Tiglates; With thunder of hoof-beat and rattle of wheel. And shimmer of satin and sparkle of steel, The grand cavalcade and the royal parade Their glittering way. as it happened, had made To the banks of the river Euphrates. But even a king may grow weary in time Of a royal amusement, however sublime, And now by tho river he halted; His bow waa too heavy, his arrows were dnll. His fan-bearers served but the breezes to lull; The flies they were rude, And the sun would Intrude, And in short, his Assyrian Majesty's mood Scarce befitted a rank so exalted! "QUITE AS SWEET TO AN EARLY ASSYRIAN' EAR AS THE MUSIC OP BACH OR BEETHOVEN." f he king, as he turned his imperial frown On the stream, for presuming to spatter his gown. He spied In the rushes the fisher-boy brown, With his pipe and his basket of wicker: And, seized with a sudden and royal caprice. He vowed he must have for his supper a piece Of that very same fish; And 't wa aL-o his wish That the piper should pay, ere he tasted the dish, That the moments might pass for him quicker. Then ran the prime minister, florid and fat. In a little gold fillet instead of a bat, And a lot of gold tassels and fringe and all that.. And a dozen proud nobles behind him; And down ou the wcadering fisher they pounced,

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And the fish from his basket they speedily bounced, And bore him away, Never stopping to say "By your leave!" for his Majesty's humor that day Mado it wise very promptly to mind him.

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V rr In state on his throne wuh i;s purple-fringed tent (For he carried one with him wherever he went). And its cushions with gold interwoven. He sat, while Tiglates. a trifle abashed Hy the splendor that round him, bewildering, flashed. Played a melody clear. And you may think it queer! Quite as sweet to an early Assyrian ear As the music of Bach or Beethoven. The king was delighted. "This fisher," he cried, "No more in the wilderness here shall abide! He shall come to my palace, shall stand at my side; For, whatever his name and his fate, he's A genius!" And straight, ere the boy could draw back. They had hustled him into a no, not a hack, But a chariot proud; And away like a cloud He was whirled, with the rest of the glittering crowd, From the banks of the river Euphrates. Now all of the wonderful things that befell At the end of the journey, I really can"t tell. For the time, if we tried it, would fail us. Each room in the palaco was big as a church And although for a window in vain you might search, There were portals a score. And beside every door Such a great winged bull as delighted of yore The mighty King Sardanapalus. "THEY SHOWED Here little Tiglates, the fisher unknown, They dr?ssed up in silks of an exquisite tone. Perfumed with Assyrian eau-de-cologne. And embroidered with sphinx and with griffin; They fed him with locusts (you wouldn't like that!). Pomegranates, pineapples, and partridges fat; They showed him the queen, Who. majestic of mien, Couldn't move (so I judge from the pictures I've seen) For the jewels her garments were stiff In! They showed him the gardens, the pride of the world;

THE RICimOND PALLADIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM, I

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They had all his ringlets exquisitely curled By a fine Babylonian barber. He played for the king, and right merrily, too; Yet I know you will hardly believe it is true That he had. with all this. The presumption to miss A low hut by the river, while tasting the bliss Of a feast in his Majesty's arbor! But for halls that were splendid and bulls that were big, If the truth must be spoken, he cared not a fig. Nor for garments of tints that were Tyrian; He wanted his mother, he wanted his home. He wanted the dear muddy marshes to roam, And the reeds by the stream Just a beautiful dream IV" THEY TOOK HIM AWAY." Had begun, ere the first day was ended, to seem To the poor little homesick Assyrian. And when, at the close of the banquet, the k!ng. Who a boon to this gem of a piper would fling, "Your wish? it is yours, by the seal on my ring!" Cried aloud to the waiting Tiglates, The heart of the boy overflowed like the tide; "Oh, your Majesty's pardon!" (he kneeled as he cried), "I have but one wish To go back to my fish. And to hear the sweet waters that ripple and swish By the shores of the river Euphrates!" The king almost fainted; his lady likewise; The waiters they staggered with doubt and surprise, And the guards fairly reeled in the gateway: A fisher, who might have had favors galore. And who asked but for freedom to roam by the shore. In a solitude dread! HIM THE QUEEN." Well, the word k was said. And the king rather peevishly nodded his head, And dismissed the whole circumstance straightwa That brave little lad, ere the morning was done, For Joy fairly danced and hallooed in the sun (From the monarch, of course, a safe distance!). And went speeding away in a chariot proud Over meadow and marsh, like a glittering cloud; And with never so much as a penny endowed. Bare and brown as before, He was dropped at his door. And he never saw horseman or chariot mors. All the days of his happy existence.

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f hut up in a pala. e. with pleasure and pelf Why, even King Sardanapalu himself, In his snnerelgnty high. Might have thought with a sigh of thfl fi,h,,r ,,on,,,n, wi,h the reeds and the sky rjv the banks of the river Euphrates! TUBY i : .. little boose1 or t girlie in an evergreen forest,

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